


Some Things Never Change

by atardecer



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Draco Malfoy, Auror Harry Potter, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Healer Hermione Granger
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:07:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,802
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27422443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atardecer/pseuds/atardecer
Summary: After spending four years in Australia restoring her parents' memories and her relationship with them, Hermione Granger is finally returning to England. She soon discovers that some things never change, but, more importantly, she discovers that some things do.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 5
Kudos: 40





	1. No Good in Goodbyes

“So, the portkey will arrive at ten, is that alright?”

“Considering it’s the fifth time you’ve told me, and I’ve had the day booked off work for the last two months, I’m going to go ahead and say it’s alright, Hermione.”

“Oh, I’m sorry if I’m fussing, Harry. It’s just it’s been so long; four years really is an awfully long time to go without seeing your best friend. But I obviously know that the world doesn’t revolve around me either so I wouldn’t want to assume that you’ll definitely be able to collect me or anything and I just–”

“I know, ‘Mione. I can’t wait to see you either.”

She felt as though she could see his smile through the phone, that familiar fondness seeping through. Even though they were nearly 10,000 miles apart, Harry and Hermione’s friendship transcended continents. Hermione couldn’t quite say the same for her and Ron, although they still remained friends, their contact had lessened and lessened until it was almost non-existent over the last four years. When Hermione decided to go to Australia after finishing her NEWTs so she could reverse the obliviation on her parents, it had put an end to whatever relationship she and Ron had been dancing around. Nothing had ever really happened beyond that kiss in the Chamber of Secrets, and for that Hermione was grateful.

Upon arriving in Sydney, Hermione enlisted the help of local Healers to reverse the effects of the enchantment and after months of treatment, her parents were back to being her parents. Although they weren’t over the moon with what she had done, they understood, and their main priority was catching up on lost time. Hermione hadn’t expected her parents to want to stay in Australia, but they had grown to love their lives there, having abandoned dentistry to open up the tiny bookshop they had always dreamed of. After all, the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree and Hermione couldn’t help but feel proud of what her parents had achieved.

She was reluctant to leave them so soon after their memories had been returned to them, however. When the Healers of St. Julian’s, the Wizarding Hospital of Sydney, offered her a traineeship with them as her reputation apparently preceded her and they had grown fond of her over the course of her parents’ treatment, Hermione jumped at the offer. Healing had always been an avenue that she was interested in pursuing, but she wasn’t sure if it was where she would have ended up had she stayed in England. Harry and Ron had both forgone their NEWTs in order to fast-track into the Auror programme, an option which had also been made available to her. Though the Auror department was probably not for her as she had dealt with more than her fair share of Dark Wizards already, she knew that she would have accepted one of the many offers from various Ministry Departments had she not chosen Australia and her parents over all of them.

Now she was a qualified Healer and, after accepting a job offer from St. Mungo’s, she was finally heading home. Although she was sad to say goodbye to her parents, her colleagues and the friends she had made during her time abroad, it was time to return to England and find out what she had missed. Harry wasn’t exactly a gossip and Hermione knew there was more than a few gaps in her knowledge of Wizarding Britain over the last four years. Hermione knew Wizarding Britain was certainly looking to fill a few gaps surrounding her life. All the Daily Prophet had managed to wrangle from Harry or any of the Weasley’s was that Hermione was safe and happy wherever she was. The media didn’t even know her reasons for having travelled to Australia in the first place.

If anything, Hermione Granger had become a bit of an enigma to the wizarding population. Rumours ran rampant regularly enough, which Hermione knew well enough thanks to her continuous subscription to the Prophet over the years. Although the news arrived a little late, it was enough to keep up to date with the most important goings-on. Apparently, what counted as important these days was headline such as “Hermione Granger and Death Eater Love Child? The Real Reason the Brains of the Golden Trio Ran Away” or “Britain’s Most Famous Muggleborn Living a Life of Debauchery Abroad”.

The papers weren’t necessarily wrong about the latter, although the former did give Hermione a good laugh. She had learned to let loose a bit more during her time in Sydney, although she wouldn’t necessarily have called it debauchery. For the first time in almost a decade, Hermione had been granted the opportunity to live without fearing for her life and she quickly found that she loved it. She had taken advantage of the city’s nightlife over the past four years, having fun and meeting people both muggle and magical. Her twenties began in the best way possible and she hoped that her return to Britain wouldn’t mean a return to the old Hermione. Her love for books and learning never dissipated, proven by her qualification as a Healer, but she had realised that she didn’t need to be just one thing and it was that realisation that had changed everything for her.

“Okay, Harry. I can’t wait either. I’ll see you in the morning. Love you,” she smiled down the phone.

“Technically, it’s already the morning for you there, ‘Mione. But yeah, I’ll see you in my morning. Goodnight, love you too.”

Hermione hung up the call and was immediately lifted off the ground by arms wrapped tightly around her waist. A scream escaped her lips before she started laughing as the hands at her waist tickled her sides. “About time you got off the phone, never thought I’d get you back to bed,” Liam growled into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

“Don’t you have work?”, she shot back, craning her neck to look at him. He placed her down, turning her so she faced him, his hands resting on her hips.

“Night shift, didn’t I tell you? I’m all yours for the rest of the day.”

“Is this your way of saying you’ll miss me?”, she teased.

“You know I will, ‘Mi. But I’ll come visit. What are friends for, eh?”, he winked, his hand lowering towards her arse and giving it a hard squeeze.

She yelped, “Oh yeah, some friend you are.” He laughed as she jumped away from his rough grip, running towards the bedroom. There were certainly some things she’d miss about Sydney, anyway.

A few hours later, after giving Liam a proper goodbye and a promise to floo call him during the week, Hermione was finishing up her packing. She still had her little beaded bag with its undetectable extension charm, she just hoped her things wouldn’t get too jostled during her travels. Her apartment seemed huge now, although it was only a little studio near the centre of Wizarding Sydney. Once she packed away all her books, she seemed to have significantly more space than she remembered.

Checking her watch, she realised she had to head to her parents’ soon if she was going to be on time for their farewell dinner. Hermione had already had her going-away celebrations with her friends, she had wanted her final evening to be just her parents and herself. And Crookshanks of course, she couldn’t forget about her furry friend, feeling him brush against her calves as she stared at her empty bedroom.

“Come on, Crooks. Time to go”, she bent down to pick him up before heading through her floo into her parents’ sitting room. She needed to close the connection now that they’d no longer need it. Her parents lived above their bookshop in a small, but cosy apartment. Hermione hadn’t lived with them for long after their release from St. Julian’s, realising that she’d gotten a little too old to be sharing such close quarters with her parents.

Hermione was pulled into a hug by her mother as soon as she arrived. Crookshanks didn’t appear very happy about it as he hissed and jumped out of her arms before he got squished. Hermione’s mum, Helen, was understandably emotional about her daughter’s impending departure, and Hermione would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little upset about having to leave them again.

Daniel Granger put a hand on his only child’s shoulder and placed a kiss on her forehead after she was released from her mother’s embrace. “We’ll have no tears this evening, ladies. It won’t be long until we’re visiting for Christmas, you won’t even get the chance to miss us.”

“Dad, it’s February”, Hermione reminded him as if he wasn’t well aware of the what month it was, but she did feel slightly mollified that it wouldn’t be too long until she would see them again.

After being handed a glass of red by her mother, Hermione settled in for her final evening with her parents. 8pm rolled around far too quickly and it was time for Hermione to head to the Australian Ministry for her portkey. She had purposely left it until the last moment to say goodbye so neither she nor her parents would have the chance to get too upset. That didn’t mean that there weren’t a few tears in her eyes as she left the apartment through the bookshop entrance and apparated away in a nearby alley, hidden from Muggle eyes. Her parents were happy for her though, they knew she was never meant to stay in Australia, and that made leaving them a little bit easier.

Hermione liked to think of the Portkey Office as the magical version of muggle airport security: boring and seemingly never-ending. Luckily, it was a quiet night, so she didn’t have to wait too long to get to her portkey. Her eyes flicked towards the clock in the corner of the room, it read five to nine. She smiled to herself as she felt that familiar tug behind her bellybutton, stomach-turning as it might be. Hermione Granger was heading home, how could she keep the smile off her face?

Portkeying from Australia to England was particularly unpleasant considering the distance, part of the reason behind why she hadn’t visited England in the last four years. She had had the option to make a stop in Dubai along the way, but she preferred to just get it over and done with. A bucket was ready and waiting for her in the arrival hall, but she was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t seem to need it in the end, having pulled herself together after a few deep breaths and some water.

She couldn’t quite believe it; she was back in England and her best friend in the world was on the other side of the double doors at the bottom of the hall. Hermione Granger was home. She couldn’t help the giddiness that erupted inside her as she smoothed down her clothes and attempted to check her hair before collecting Crookshanks from his little transportation cage and walking towards the door. It was just after ten, she hoped Harry had sorted out his time management in the last few years, but she wouldn’t be surprised if she was hanging around for a while before he arrived.

Hermione was pleasantly surprised as she made her way through the doors and was met by a beaming smile and two green eyes still hidden behind crooked glasses. Some things never did change and for that Hermione was grateful. She ran into Harry’s arms and he wrapped them around her lifting her in the air and spinning her. It was at that moment that a camera flashed, and Hermione was reminded once more of what had not changed in her time away, she was less grateful about this one though. Although no one knew she was coming back, Harry was still The Boy Who Lived and tended to be noticed doing anything outside of his normal schedule.

Choosing to ignore the reporter, who had run up to the pair upon realising just who had walked through the doors of the International Arrival Hall, Hermione grabbed Harry’s hand and began leading him towards the exit. “I can’t believe you’re really back. Gods I missed you, ‘Mione.” Harry backed up his claim by wrapped an arm around her shoulders and placing a kiss atop her head.

“I missed you too, Harry. I’m happy to be home, no getting rid of me now”, she joked.

“I certainly hope not”, he laughed, giving her a squeeze as they meandered through the Ministry towards the floo grates.

Word had apparently travelled fast that Britain’s Golden Girl was back, even with no Death Eater love child in tow that was front page news and the amount of flashes that met them upon entering the Atrium attested to that.

“Must be a slow news day”, she rolled her eyes. Hermione had enjoyed the relative anonymity she had experienced in Australia. While people were aware of who she was and what had happened in Britain, she was no celebrity in the Southern Hemisphere, merely an impressive witch who had done what was right.

“Can’t blame them for being excited that Hermione Granger is back on English soil. I’m definitely not the only one excited to see you. We’re going for drinks later, whether you like it or not”, Harry grinned at her as they finally made it through the flashing cameras to the floos, choosing to travel together as Harry threw down the green powder, shouting out the address for Grimmauld Place and pulling them away.

As they landed in the sitting room of the old Black residence, Hermione dusted herself down before turning towards Harry again. “If we’re going for drinks I need to shower and sleep, it’s more like 11pm my time and I won’t make it out the door this evening if I don’t get some rest.”

“That’s fine. I might head into the office and get a few reports filed then if that’s the case. We can do a late lunch if you’d like?” Harry offered, running a hand through his already unruly hair. Familiar actions like that made Hermione realise just how much she had missed her best friend and she was enjoying how easily they had slipped back into their old back and forth.

“I thought you said you’d booked the day off work?” she raised her brow, not annoyed at him in any way as she was going to sleep the day away, but curious to know why he had to go into work.

“Well, I did. But we cracked a big case yesterday and I never got the chance to do my half of the reports and I’ll be killed come Monday morning if they’re still not done”, he explained, shrugging his shoulders as if this was a regular occurrence.

“Gods, your partner sounds like a right arsehole”, she joked. After giving Harry a kiss on the cheek, she threw her beaded bag on the couch and made her way towards the stairs which would lead to the room she knew she’d be staying in. It was nice not having to settle in, in a way it felt as though she had never even left.

“You have no idea”, she heard faintly just before the floo activated and Harry was gone. She was too tired to think on that, but she was sure she’d find out at some point.


	2. Trust me, I'm a doctor.

When Hermione awoke a few hours later, feeling much more well-rested and ready for a hot shower, she could tell Harry wasn’t home yet. It was far too quiet in Grimmauld Place for her liking and she switched on the muggle radio that sat in the corner of her old bedroom. She supposed it was her current bedroom now as Harry had offered her the room for as long as she wanted it. She did plan on finding her own place, of course, but it was nice to not have to worry about it straight away. It also gave her the chance to spend more time with Harry as well, something she was going to take advantage of until she began her new job.

As Hermione pulled herself out of bed, she heard the floo activate below, announcing Harry’s return. Her shower could wait for a while as the smell of food now emanating from the sitting room was too delicious to refuse. Summoning her slippers and dressing gown from her beaded bag, she hadn’t quite gotten the chance to unpack yet, Hermione wrapped herself up and padded down the stairs. She was met with Harry’s smiling face and a table covered in Indian takeaway. Upon seeing the feast laid out before her, Hermione was suddenly ravenous and sat herself down to get started.

“Have I ever told you I love you, Harry?” she asked, grinning at her friend.

“Maybe once or twice, but I’m fairly sure you love veggie samosas more”, he joked. Hermione elbowed him in the side, but she wasn’t really offended. She did love samosas, evidenced by the fact that Harry had ordered her extra.

“So, how was work? Did you get everything done?” Hermione made conversation around mouthfuls, glad that Harry’s table manners were significantly better than Ron’s ever were. Speaking of Ron, she wasn’t sure if he would be there tonight or not. She assumed he would, but she found she didn’t really care either way. It’d be nice to have him back as a friend, but he hadn’t seemed to miss her too much if their lack of contact was anything to go by.

“Yeah, got most of it done anyway. My death isn’t quite as imminent as it was earlier”, he smirked.

Hermione snorted, “When is it not imminent? You managed to kill off one Dark Wizard and suddenly decided to make a career out of it. Sounds like a death wish if you ask me.”

“Well excuse me for liking a bit of excitement in my life, Golden Girl”, he retorted, mock-glaring at her as he took a slug of his beer. The pair had decided to start a little early, they were celebrating after all.

“Oh Harry, there are plenty of other ways to spice up your life”, she laughed.

“I’m sure Healing is very exciting, ‘Mione.”

“I wasn’t talking about my job”, she winked.

Hermione was still laughing at the look on Harry’s face when she was getting ready about an hour later. The shower had been exactly what she’d needed, and she was ready to face the world this evening. Well, Diagon Alley’s newest pub, The Flaming Phoenix – lovingly referred to as the Phoenix by its patrons, wasn’t quite the world, but Harry had assured her it pulled in a decent crowd of a Friday night.

Drying and styling her hair into respectable, if a little wild, curls, Hermione moved on to her outfit. It was only February, so still quite cold unfortunately. Still, she could never go wrong with jeans and a nice top. Choosing a pair of black skinnies and matching them with her red, off-the-shoulder top, Hermione finished the outfit with black heels and a leather jacket. This was one of her classic, casual-night-out outfits and she knew she looked good in it. Before Harry started complaining that she was taking too long, she applied some mascara and red lipstick that matched her top and headed down the stairs.

“Enchanting as ever, ‘Mione”, Harry complimented as the pair looped their arms together so they could apparate to Diagon.

“You’re looking particularly dashing yourself, Mr. Potter”, she grinned, excited for the evening ahead. She wasn’t wrong either, Harry had scrubbed up well and she was sure he would catch the eye of every witch in the place, not that he wanted to though. Harry hadn’t shown much interest in any witches since his breakup with Ginny two years ago. Hermione had seen it coming, but the Weasleys and Ginny herself certainly hadn’t, causing quite the upset. Everyone had long gotten over it, however, and Ginny was now happily engaged to Michael Corner according to Harry. He seemed genuinely happy about it, but Hermione couldn’t help but feel like there was something he wasn’t telling her. She knew he would tell her whatever it was when he was ready, and she certainly didn’t plan on pressuring him in any way.

Before Hermione could think too much more on the matter, she was pulled back to reality as Harry apparated them both out of Grimmauld Place and into Diagon’s apparition point. Hermione was proud that she landed steadily in her heels, but she knew that mightn’t be the case in a few hours. Oh well, she was home and she was going to enjoy her first night out in Britain in years. She wouldn’t even count her previous ventures as going out really, Hermione had learned how to relax and enjoy herself a lot more since then.

Harry and Hermione remained linked at the arm as they sloped down Diagon Alley towards the pub. They passed the Daily Prophet’s offices on the way where Hermione saw her face plastered across the latest edition in the window alongside the moving image of her and Harry embracing earlier that day. ‘Hermione Granger Returns to the Arms of her Former Lover after Years in Hiding” read the headline, under which the predictable name of Rita Skeeter could be seen. Hermione snorted as she turned to Harry, his face expressing a similar level of bemusement. “Gods, they don’t waste time, do they?”, Hermione rolled her eyes as she tugged on Harry’s arm to keep moving. “It’s not as if I was hiding anyway, they could have found me easily enough if they wanted to.”

“I’m more concerned about the fact they think we’re shagging”, Harry quipped.

“Again, Harry. They think we’re shagging again”, she laughed, unable to help herself at how ridiculous the wizarding media was. In their defence, she hadn’t predicted that headline when she thought about the potential articles surrounding her return.

“And couldn’t we both do a lot worse? Actually, we both have done a lot worse. Besides the point. Anyway, m’lady, we have arrived at our destination. Welcome to The Flaming Phoenix”, Harry postured, opening the front door for her before following her through.

“You’re not wrong”, she said, turning to look back at him. “Harry James Potter! Are you staring at my arse?”, she asked, giving him a smack on the chest for good measure.

“Well, since we’re already shagging, I figured it couldn’t hurt to get a look”, he winked. Hermione knew he was being anything but serious, there was nothing between the pair and the thought of the Prophet’s headline ringing true actually made her feel nauseous. Their friendship was too important, had survived too much, to even considering degrading it by going down that road.

Once again pulled from her reverie as Harry led her towards a secluded, but crowded, table in the back of the bar. The Phoenix itself was poorly lit, but in a way that suggested it was purposeful. Harry hadn’t been wrong; it was packed already, and it was only early in the evening. She got the sense that this had become the place to be for young witches and wizards, and she could certainly see why. The modern décor and exclusively young crowd were a refreshing change from the likes of the Leaky.

As they approached the table, Hermione immediately recognised Neville and his girlfriend, Hannah, Luna, Ron, Ginny and Michael, Séamus, Dean and George. After the usual hugs and welcome backs, everyone eventually sat themselves down with a drink in front of them and got to catching up. “So, are you home for good?”, George asked from his seat beside her. Hermione couldn’t express how happy she was to see him happy again. The last time she had seen him was still so soon after losing Fred that it seemed he’d lost the ability to laugh forever. They’d sent a few letters back and forth over the years, keeping up with each other’s lives and she knew he had slowly but surely started healing, but seeing it in person was so much better.

“No getting rid of me now. Who knows, I might even take Ron’s job in the shop off him. You’ll never get away from me then”, she joked. Ron had started working for George shortly after dropping out of the Auror programme. He had realised that it wasn’t for him and Hermione respected him for that. It hadn’t been for her either and she was glad he didn’t just do it because it was what was expected of him. He and George ended up working well together and, although Fred could never be replaced, Hermione knew that it meant a lot to George to be working with one of his brothers still.

“You can have it, ‘Mione. Bloody slave driver he is”, Ron interjected, sending a grin her way. Hermione was glad that he seemed to have gotten over his initial anger at her rejection of him and that they had gotten to a point where things just seemed normal.

As she stood at the bar with Ginny grabbing another round for the table, the younger girl leaned in conspiratorially, “The barman has been making eyes at you, you know.” Ginny gave her a wink and bumped her with her hip. “You should have a chat with him.”

Hermione snorted, “Although he’s cute, he’s probably just recognising me from today’s headline or something. Anyway, I’m not looking for anything. Tonight is all about catching up with my friends.”

“Missing someone back in Australia?”, Ginny prodded as she drank the last of her daiquiri before the next one arrived.

“Haven’t been gone long enough to miss anyone yet, but no. Only friends left behind there.”

“You’ve got a lot of friends, ‘Mione. Girl needs more than friends sometimes”, Ginny whispered as if sharing state secrets. She was glad that the pair had slipped into an easy comradery over the course of the evening. They had never been the best of friends before, but Hermione had always liked Ginny and it seemed that the feeling was mutual.

It was Hermione’s turn to wink as she charmed the fresh drinks to follow her back to the table, “Depends on what kind of friends you’ve got, Gin.”

Ginny’s mouth opened and closed like a fish before her brain seemed to connect to what was happening and she began to follow Hermione back to the group. “Hermione Jean Granger, what on earth were you doing Down Under? Or should I say who were you doing?”, Ginny laughed a little maniacally and Hermione merely placed a finger over her lips as the universal way of saying “Not a word”.

Hermione was surprised to see there were a few more additions to the table upon their return. She was even more surprised when she saw who they were. Luckily, she had already sent the drinks to their owners or she might have dropped them all on the floor.

“Malfoy, Nott, Parkinson? What in Godric’s name are you doing here?”, she demanded, looking around the table.

“Don’t forget about me, love”, she heard behind her as Blaise Zabini placed four drinks on the table in front of the Slytherins.

“What? Did Potter not tell you we’d be coming? It’s not as if we do this every Friday or anything”, Pansy said, rolling her eyes in Harry’s direction.

“Harry?”, Hermione whipped around to face her best friend, unable to understand why everyone seemed so accepting of the snakes’ presence. “Care to explain?”

Harry looked at her with fear in his eyes. He stuttered, “Uh…yeah. Well, see I forgot to mention it a couple years ago and then I just never really had a good time to bring it up. And well it’s hard to explain things properly over the floo or in letters, I’m sure you know yourself. The thing is that, well, Malfoy is, well, I guess he’s…”

“I’m an Auror, Granger. Potter is my partner and has been for the past two years. At the end of the week we all like to convene here for a Firewhiskey or two and Potter failed to mention that you were unaware of this fact. So, I guess you’re not the only one who’s a little put out with him at the moment”, Malfoy drawled, turning to face her, his eyes looking her up and down.

“You’re an Auror? Who the hell let that happen?”, Hermione blurted, and she could see Harry wince in her peripheral vision.

The flash in Malfoy’s eyes was infinitesimal but Hermione saw it. “Yes, well, you weren’t the only one of that opinion, Granger.”

“He’s actually one of our best, Hermione”, Dean interjected surprisingly. “Hell, I’d probably say he is the best if Harry wasn’t sitting beside me right now.”

“Right, well”, Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly before taking her original seat. “I suppose I’ll just have to get over myself, won’t I?”

“This’ll help”, Nott said as he poured something that smelled strongly like muggle absinthe into her already highly alcoholic cocktail from a flask he’d had nestled in his pocket.

“Should I be worried you Slytherins are trying to poison me?”, Hermione laughed, only half-joking but taking a sip from the drink, nonetheless.

“What’s that muggle phrase you taught me, Harry?”, Nott smirked before turning back to Hermione with a wink, “Trust me, I’m a doctor.”

Hermione took a sizeable gulp from her drink then, wincing at the strength. First Malfoy was an Auror, now Nott was her colleague. Next thing she knew Blaise Zabini would be the father of her children and Pansy Parkinson would be her new best friend. It was going to be a long night.


	3. Of Metamorphmagi and Men

Of all the things Hermione had expected to happen on her night out, getting along with Theodore Nott certainly hadn’t been one of them. After spiking her drink to a near poisonous level, he had apologised by buying her one of “those frilly little drinks that I’m not supposed to like”. Since then the pair had been chatting about St. Mungo’s, their respective training and where they wanted their careers to go. In Hermione’s opinion the conversation was riveting, but it seemed the rest of the group didn’t agree as they had essentially tuned them out. Theo didn’t seem to mind though.

When it was Hermione’s turn to get herself and Theo a drink, she decided to grab one for Harry as well as a sort of apology for making a fuss about the Slytherins being there. Although she hadn’t chatted to the others much, she didn’t think she’d mind their company too much if they were anything like Theo. Two suitably frilly drinks and a Firewhiskey in hand, Hermione headed back to the group sending the cocktails to sit in front of Theo and her own seat before walking over to where Harry and Malfoy’s heads were bent together, most likely talking about something from work. Typical, she and Theo were boring when they did it, but the Aurors must be talking about something exciting if they were discussing work on a night out.

“Got you your favourite, Harry”, Hermione smiled, passing the drink to him.

Harry grinned at her before taking the glass, she thought she saw his smile drop a bit after taking a sip, but she was sure it was just her imagination. “Thanks, ‘Mione. You’re the best”, he said gratefully.

“Firewhiskey’s not his favourite, Granger”, came a clipped drawl to her left. Hermione’s eyes flashed up to meet grey ones, stretched upwards in a smirk.

“And how in Godric’s name would you know what his favourite drink is, Malfoy?”, she snapped. He just had to go and stick his pointy nose into her business. She could’ve sworn that he was trying to rile her up and ruin her night.

“Have you forgotten that I’m his partner, Granger? Potter and I have spent a lot of time together over the last two years. Significantly more than the two of you have”, he replied, looking bored.

Hermione seethed, but before she could get the chance to respond Harry gave Malfoy a whack on the arm. “Knock it off, Malfoy. We’re meant to be celebrating, not jumping down each other’s throats”, Harry, ever the voice of reason, said firmly.

“Forgive me, I forgot tonight was supposed to be all about our Golden Girl, returning from Salazar knows where to reclaim her throne”, Malfoy smirked. Hermione could tell there was no malice in his words, he was merely trying to get a rise out of her, but her blood boiled, nevertheless. Malfoy’s eyes flicked to her once more, as if waiting for an explosion. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Without saying another word, Hermione headed back to her seat and took a sip of her fruity cocktail before Theo stole it, she could see he had nearly finished his own.

“Is he always that infuriating?”, she asked her new colleague.

“Who? Draco?”, he didn’t wait for a response before continuing, “Yes. He definitely is. You should know, you went to school with him as well. But I promise, at some point it does become somewhat endearing.”

“I sincerely doubt it”, Hermione glared at the blond ferret on the other side of the table, who was too wrapped up in a conversation with Dean now to remember she existed. “I don’t know how you stick him, Nott.”

“Call me Theo”, he said with a patient smile. “And, although it may not seem like it, he’s not the Draco you remember. He’s my best friend in the world, he might be a pompous arsehole but so am I and you seem to like me well enough”, he justified.

Hermione couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face, “I suppose I’ll have to get used to pompous arseholes, won’t I? Call me Hermione.”

Soon after that, Ginny had convinced everyone to do shots and that was about the last thing Hermione remembered. As she woke up the next morning, it was as if she could feel the tequila mocking her. She had sworn off the muggle liquor, which had grown increasingly popular in the magical world, since she had been dared to apparate onto the highest point of the Sydney Harbour Bridge the previous April – a dare she completed with flying colours mind you, but she didn’t fancy splinching herself so sober Hermione had banned the drink. Apparently drunk Hermione didn’t care much for sober Hermione’s demands.

She groaned at the banging behind her temples, rolling over in hopes of feeling a cold pillow against her face, but landing on a hard chest instead. Hermione tensed instantly, unsure who or what was laying in bed beside her. Peaking an eye open, she tried to ascertain where exactly she was. She breathed a sigh of relief as she realised that, while it was not her own bed, it was Grimmauld Place, and the slumbering male beside her was undoubtedly her best friend. Relaxing once more, Hermione threw an arm over Harry’s chest and attempted to go back to sleep, anything to escape her throbbing headache.

It seemed she was out of luck as Harry began to stir from underneath her. “Morning”, he groaned, reaching a hand up to rub his eyes.

“You sound about as good as I feel”, she joked, feeling incredibly sorry for herself in that moment.

“Two Pepper-Ups coming right up”, Harry agreed, eventually managing to roll himself out of bed.

An hour later, the pair were feeling significantly better as they sat at the kitchen table. The only residual effects from the night before were lack of sleep and a craving for greasy food. Kreacher had passed away the year before and Harry had thankfully chosen not to replace him. Between the two of them, they were able to make a cracking fry-up and they were both feeling a lot better by the end of it.

As Hermione sipped her tea, holding the mug in both her hands for warmth, she looked across the table at Harry. “So, you and Malfoy, eh?”, she began.

He raised a brow, “You say it as if we’re lovers, ‘Mione. We work together, it’s not quite as sordid as you’re making it out.”

“Yeah, well he seems to think he knows more about you than I do. Seems a little sordid if you ask me. You’re basically in bed with a Slytherin”, she accused, although there was no malice behind her words. Her annoyance at Malfoy lingered and she was unwilling to let Harry off the hook too easily after he essentially dropped her in it the night before.

“While there are a few Slytherins I wouldn’t mind being in bed with, Malfoy is not and never will be one of them. He rides my arse enough in work as it is. File this, Potter. Look into that, Potter. You’d swear the bloke was trying to bring down Dark Wizards with paperwork”, he moaned.

Hermione sniffed, “Paperwork is quite important, you know.” She took a sip of her tea, attempting to keep the smile off her face as Harry glared at her.

“You two were made for each other”, he shot back. Hermione made a face at that and Harry apparently found it quite amusing as he began to laugh at her. “Gods, that’d be one for the history books. Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Prophet wouldn’t be too far off then about the whole Death Eater love child thing then, would they?” Sensing that Hermione wasn’t going to dignify that with a response, he continued, “But yeah, I should have told you that they’d be there. I just didn’t want you to not want to go. They’re really not that bad when you get used to them. I mean Malfoy is Malfoy, you should count your blessings that you don’t have to spend every single day with him. Theo’s great though. Really, really great. I’m sure you figured that out last night though.” Harry’s cheeks seemed to warm slightly the more he talked until he eventually pulled himself together. “Pansy and Blaise can be good fun too, of course.”

Rather than prodding Harry on something he already seemed to be embarrassed about, Hermione decided to take the high road and move on. “It’s okay, Harry. I forgive you. However, I do need you to fill me in on absolutely everything else I have missed, before I land myself in another awkward situation.”

“That’s fair enough. Hard to think of anything on the spot. I suppose you should know that Ron and Lavender have been on and off for a while, can’t remember which one they are now.” Upon noting that Hermione had waved off the revelation, Harry continued on his quest for information. “George is going to propose to Angelina soon, I think. She actually told me to tell you that she’s sorry she couldn’t make last night, but she’ll see you soon hopefully. Uh, what else? Charlie moved home last year, got a bad injury in Romania and took up the Care of Magical Creatures post. Doing really well actually. Molly’s delighted, of course. Ever since Fred, she’s wanted family to be as close to home as possible. Speaking of actually, Fleur is about to pop. Think she’s due in a few weeks.”

“Oh my god, that’s fantastic about Charlie, but I didn’t even know Fleur was pregnant. I feel awful…I’ll have to send a letter. Maybe a teddy or something for the baby. Oh Godric, Teddy! How is he? I haven’t seen him since he was so small. I always send birthday and Christmas presents but he probably doesn’t remember me at all. I really have missed a lot, haven’t I?”, Hermione asked, she couldn’t bring herself to regret Australia but seeing how much life had gone on without her was always going to be hard.

Harry reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. “No, ‘Mione, you haven’t. It just feels that way right now. We’re all still the same people. Teddy’s a bit bigger and the group has a few new additions, but other than that we’re still your family. You’ve only been back a little over a day. Give yourself a break”, he told her, giving her one of his genuine smiles that brought a level of comfort that little else did.

“I love you, Harry”, she said, suddenly feeling a rush of affection for the man.

“And I love you too. Now, how does a visit to Andromeda and Teddy sound?”, Harry offered, downing the end of his tea and shoving the last of his toast into his mouth before standing up. “Dibs the shower first”, he yelled as he fled the room at breakneck speed.

“Harry James Potter! You know my hair takes longer to dry than yours, that’s not fair!”, she called after him, but it was pointless. Resigning herself to the washing up while Harry showered, Hermione started gathering the dishes the muggle way. She could have done it much more easily with magic, but she had always found it relaxing to do things without the aid of her wand. Flicking on the wireless, she began to scrub the plates and pans that had been used for their brunch, singing along to the Weird Sisters’ song that came on. A sense of calm enveloped her and, not for the first time in the last 24 hours, Hermione was happy to be home.

* * *

Upon arriving at the Tonks/Lupin residence and knocking on the front door, Hermione thought that she was decidedly unhappy to be home as a blond head opened the door to her and Harry. It seemed there was no escaping Draco Malfoy and his pointedness.

“What on earth are you doing here, Malfoy?”

The words were out of Hermione’s mouth before she could stop them. Malfoy looked like he was ready to come back at her with a smart comment, but Harry put an end to things before they could even begin. “Teddy is his cousin, ‘Mione. And Andromeda is his aunt. Remember?”

“You don’t have to speak to me like I’m a small child, Harry”, she griped, before pushing past Malfoy and making her way into the house. Harry also entered the home, clapping Draco on the shoulder and the two men followed Hermione into the sitting room where Andromeda had already embraced her.

“We’ve missed you around here, Hermione. It’s good to have you back”, she told Hermione, releasing her from their hug but holding her by the elbows as if to take a long, motherly look at her. “You’ve gotten so beautiful. The sunshine down there did you some good. You were still so pale and skinny when you left us.” Although Andromeda had married a Muggleborn, she was still a Black and she certainly wasn’t afraid to say how it was.

“Thanks ‘Dromeda”, Hermione replied, rolling her eyes fondly at the woman. Andromeda decided to make tea for everyone and wandered into the kitchen. It was then that Hermione felt tapping against her jeans and looked down to see six-year-old Teddy Lupin looking up at her.

“Excuse me, Miss Granger. I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Teddy and Nana told me I should say thank you for all the presents you’ve given me”, he said shyly, not quite making eye contact with her. This little blue-haired boy with impeccable manners, obviously enforced by his grandmother, reminded her so much of both his parents in entirely different ways and it just about broke Hermione’s heart. She knelt down to his level and stuck out her hand for him to shake. He seemed to appreciate being treated like an adult as he took her hand and shook it vigorously.

“You’re very welcome for your presents. Of course, I remember you, Teddy. But it’s been a very long time since we’ve seen each other. Please call me Hermione. We used to be the best of friends, you and I, and I’d love it if you’d be my friend again.” Teddy shook his head in agreement and gave her a toothy grin. The smile spread further across Hermione’s face as he showed off his Metamorphmagus skills by changing his hair and eyes to match Hermione’s. He was very cute as a curly-haired brunette and it gave Hermione visions of her potential future as she looked at him.

“Do you know Miss Hermione, Draco?”, Teddy looked up to his cousin, admiration obvious in his eyes and Hermione wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

“Yes, I do, Teddy. We went to school together. I wasn’t very nice to her, though, so we’re not really friends now”, Draco said honestly, looking over at Hermione who refused to meet his gaze, unsure what she’d find there.

“Why weren’t you nice to her? Nana told me that she’s Harry’s friend and you’re Harry’s friend too!”, Teddy protested, seemingly unable to connect the dots.

“Remember I told you that I wasn’t very good when I was a kid?”, Draco asked, continuing at Teddy’s nod. “Well, I was very silly and thought I was better than Miss Hermione because I’m a pureblood and she’s Muggleborn.”

“That’s the silliest thing I’ve ever heard, Draco!”, Teddy accused, brows furrowed in childish annoyance.

“You’re right, Teddy. It was very silly of me and I’m very sorry about it now”, Draco admitted. Hermione couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but Harry’s face showed no surprise as she looked towards him.

“Well Nana always says that it’s okay as long as you’re sorry and don’t do it again”, Teddy reasoned. He changed his hair to Draco’s platinum blond, but kept the curls and Hermione’s eyes, creating a perfect combination of the pair. He looked back at Hermione who’s jaw slackened as she took in his appearance, he seemed to have had a similar effect on Draco who Hermione was still resolutely avoiding eye-contact with. “Maybe you and Draco can be friends now, Miss Hermione, you know, since he’s sorry and all.” Hermione didn't know what to say to that, her mouth opening and closing like a fish as she stared at the blond-haired, brown-eyed little boy in front of her. 

"Who's for tea?", Andromeda asked as she re-entered the room, tea service trailing behind her. As she took in the scene before her, eyes flicking between Teddy, Hermione, Harry and Draco, a smirk spread across her face. "Have I missed something?"


End file.
